Celebrity Diets

There is always controversy over any new diet that celebrities are trying out. The media usually brand these diets as ineffective as they are usually extreme and people generally put the weight straight back on. This is what caught my eye about the reasonably new Dukan 100 foods diet from France. Although the creator, Pierre Dukan has been working as a nutritionist for over thirty years, his interactive guidance website is a mere two years old. It is very much concentrated on the time frame after you reach your ideal weight, teaching you the skills you need to maintain a good size and become comfortable with yourself.

The 100 foods are made up of 72 animal-based ingredients and 28 plant-based ingredients which you are introduced to throughout the four phases. These phases help you learn how to lose weight with Dukan and are supposed to get easier as you progress through the programme, with more food types being involved later on and of course your body becoming used to the exercise. The first phase involves extreme workouts and a high-protein diet to kick-start the course and by the end of the second phase you will have reached your ideal weight.

It is always difficult to tell between fact and fiction when it comes to people talking and writing about healthy diet plans and it has been said that there is no science behind the diet. It has also been said that although the Duchess of Cambridge got on well with Dukan, her mother found it ineffective and that the likes of Gisele Bundchen, Penelope Cruz and Jennifer Lopez have all tried it out. With diets like these that cut out whole food groups, of course it won’t be suitable for everyone. Some people need to eat an incredibly balanced diet which this diet just isn’t capable of giving since all carbohydrates are cut out amongst other things. As with all diets, you should check with your doctor before you begin in order to ensure you will be able to see it from start to finish. There is also online support available throughout.

Can Your Dietary Habits Affect Your Sleep Habits?

Falling asleep and staying asleep are components of a natural and essential process that we all encounter on a daily basis, and most people usually do not have a problem doing either. These people typically have harnessed and nurtured certain lifestyle and dietary habits that promote sound sleep. People who have problems either falling or staying asleep, however, are often missing out on a critical dietary habit or practicing bad dietary habits that directly interfere with sleep. Some dietary habits have beneficial effects on sleep. Do you know which is which?

What you eat and drink can have a significant impact on your ability to fall or stay asleep. Numerous foods can make you feel sleepy, while others can cause trouble sleeping. So what exactly is the link between food and sleep? We know that some foods and drinks will absolutely have an effect on your level of alertness.

One of the ways to achieve a healthy night’s sleep is to keep the brain calm rather than alert and agitated. And strikingly, research has shown that what you eat a few hours before bed can dramatically affect your alertness or calmness, thus impacting your sleep patterns. For example, tryptophan, an amino acid, helps produce serotonin and melatonin which are important neurotransmitters that help relax your mind and body. Tryptophan is famously prominent in turkey, and that is why so many people feel very, very sleepy after a Thanksgiving meal.

But sometimes it’s not just the content of the food we eat that affects the way we sleep; the quantity and timing can also have a huge impact. For example it is best to avoid eating a large meal prior to bed time. This may seem counter intuitive at first, because we often feel tired after eating a big meal during our active hours. You might think, “if a big meal gets me this tired during the day, surely it will help me feel tired when it’s time for bed.” However, the process of digestion, with all its muscle contractions and acidic processes, disrupts sleep and can in fact prevent you from falling into a deep sleep entirely.

Of equal but opposite importance, you should take care never to go to bed hungry. you need to strike a harmony between eating too much, and not eating enough. Being hungry in bed will keep you awake, no doubt fantasizing about food, but more importantly it will put your digestive system into a position where it begins consuming your own body’s fat reserves for sustenance. This is why we feel “hunger pangs,” and hunger pangs keep us awake. One suggestion is to eat a very small, light snack shortly before going to bed.

As we all know, several kinds of food, such as milk, can help with sleeping. But we do not know that some foods actually bring sleeping difficulties to people. First of all, food like sweet potatoes, corns and peas may produce lots of gas (and, yes, consequential flatulence) during the digestion process. As a result, if people eat such starch-heavy foods before sleeping, they would feel way too full to actually get any real sleep in. Secondly, in a manner similar to caffeine-heavy foods and drinks such as coffee and tea, spicy foods and salty foods excite your nerves and the alertness centers in your brain as well as your tastebuds and make sleeping even more difficult. Furthermore, these kinds of food make stomachs uncomfortable and consume the substances which are helpful to sleeping. Finally, fatty food influences sleeping quality, too. Such food burdens the digestion system and induces the nerve system so that the human body works all the time; deep sleep, on the other hand, requires that your muscles go into a state of stasis and atrophy. What is even worse, it delays the whole process of sleep entirely.

To enhance the quality of sleep and prevent insomnia, people are advised to eat some food that can help with sleeping instead of eating the foods mentioned above. The following foods are a great choice:

· Almonds. These nuts contain tryptophan, which stimulates sleep.

· Turkey. Contains high levels of tryptophan. Think about a tiny turkey sandwich, hold the cheese though. Cheese can be harder to digest and cause gas.

· Oatmeal. Basic and hearty, oatmeal contains plenty of carbohydrates and will fill you up without forcing your digestive system to work too hard.

 ·Warm milk. The somniferous powers of a glass of warm milk have been touted for years. The power of a small glass of milk is familiar to most people. Scientific research has found that there exists two major chemicals which make people sleepy. One chemical is tryptophan, which prompts the brain to produce a certain neurotransmitter called hydroxide. It is this neurotransmitter that makes people sleep easily. The other chemical is a peptide that is similar to opium; this chemical is pretty prominent in milk. It mixes with the central nervous system to calm and relax the body. 

If you eat some of the above-mentioned items in small quantities shortly before going to bed, you might see very noticeable improvements in your sleep habits and a reduction in insomnia!

—

Mike is a freelance writer who is fascinated by incredible design; whether he is analyzing the delicate elegance of the human muscular system, the efficiency and foreward-thinkingness of Roman architectural columns, or the rich and strong wooden frames of modern teak platform beds – he always finds something to be excited about in the world of design and engineering. He wrote this article for PlatformBedsOnline.com, a furniture retailer that also designs some of its own unique reclaimed-wood low-profile beds that are built to last a lifetime.

—

Walk Your Way to Better Health

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Lao Tzu couldn’t have been more correct when he said this. Even at the physical level, this holds true. Before you advance to the more complex forms of fitness workouts, nothing quite beats the basics. And one of those basics is walking.

No matter how many new fitness contraptions come out each year, or whatever fitness craze is currently drawing crowds, walking is and will always be a good form of exercise. It’s a gentle exercise with low impact, and helps ease your way up the ladder of more intense workouts. Virtually anybody from any fitness level can walk. It’s easy to do, and hardly requires any practice.

Walking as a form of exercise has numerous health benefits which cannot be discounted. It is known to lower your blood pressure and helps manage diabetes. Walking also raises the levels of good cholesterol in your body. Overall, your body stays strong, fit, and you get a general sense of well-being.

The nice thing about walking for fitness is that you don’t have to push your body to the limit just so you could reap its health benefits. Research shows that brisk walking on a regular basis helps reduce your risk of heart attack in the same way vigorous exercise does. Walking is a no-strain exercise regimen.

Although walking is pretty much low impact, you should still take extra care when preparing for it. Wear shoes with proper arch support.

To warm up, start off by walking slowly for about five minutes. You can increase the pace once you feel warm.

When you’re done warming up, you can do some stretching before your actual walk. Remember to stretch your calf muscles and hamstrings. To make it easy on your heart and muscles, end each walking session by cooling down. You can do this by walking slowly and then repeating those stretches.

As with anything, easy does it. Once you get the hang of walking, it’ll soon be a regular part of your fitness routine. Putting one foot in front of the other never felt so much fun.

Look Fresh Despite Workplace Stress

A properly applied make-up at the start of the work day helps create a fresh and professional look for office women. Unfortunately, it can be quite difficult to maintain this bright appearance throughout the day especially when one has to face a desk full of paperwork all the time. With hardly any time left to go or even think about a visit to the powder room, one can end up looking stressed and disheveled without realizing it. Here are some suggestions on how to keep looking fresh at the office all day long.

• 1. Observe Proper Skin Care. A good looking skin is one of the best beauty assets that a woman can have. It’s easier to look fresh all the time when one has great skin. There is no need to worry about covering blemishes, blotting out oil or looking older due to dry skin. Arm yourself with tools like Tea Tree Oil for acne or pimple breakouts, Blotting Tissue to get rid of midday shine, moisturizer, and facial spray for hydration and added freshness.

• 2. Know Your Cosmetics. Make-up can help you highlight your assets and hide your flaws. Taking time to learn how to use cosmetics to your advantage can make you look good even at your worst day. For instance, a cooling eye gel and eyeliner can help remove signs of a sleepless night or the after effects of a late night out with friends. The eye gel can help minimize the puffiness around the eyes while a white eye liner can mask any redness that may be visible.

• 3. Stay Away from Dry, Chapped Skin. Air conditioned work places and the winter season can make the lips dry and chapped. Always have a lip balm on hand to make sure that your lips stay kissable during the cold months. Hands can also get dry and rough during cold weathers. Having a lotion or hand cream on your purse will help you maintain soft and smooth skin.

• 4. Style Your Mane. A neat looking hairstyle is always pleasant to the eyes. Tight pony tails and buns are probably the neatest hairstyle that one can sport. Unfortunately, it can also be boring after a while. Don’t be afraid to experiment with other styles that also help create volume for your hair.

• 5. Get a Pocket Mirror. You may not have enough time for trips to the powder room to check on your appearance but that doesn’t mean that you can’t check yourself at your own desk. Have a small mirror at the side of your desk to monitor your appearance.

Why Is It Important to Act on Medical Negligence?

Medical negligence is also known as both clinical negligence and medical malpractice, and it refers to cases in which a medical professional has failed in his or her duty of care towards a patient, or, in layman’s terms, makes a mistake which has a negative impact on the patient. Recently cited as the 6th largest single cause of death in the United States, it is clearly a widespread problem.

Obviously, it is not in the best interests of your doctor or nurse to make a mistake, and they are usually known for their outstanding dedication to patient service, incorporating the best methods of health care with the friendliest bedside manner. But mistakes, as in any other area of life, do happen – a hospital is no exception!

If you, or perhaps a close friend or relative of yours, have suffered from medical negligence, and you are looking to do something about it, there are a few routes you can take, depending on what exactly you want to get out of it.

I Want an Explanation or Apology

Of course, if someone has made a mistake and caused you or a loved one harm, it is only natural to feel angry and upset, and to be left wanting an explanation for what went wrong. It’s also pretty normal to expect an apology for the damage done, an admission of culpability.

If this is what you’re after, it is normally fairly simple – just get in touch with the hospital (or other medical institution) that houses the person responsible, and ask if you can meet for a face to face chat. Any medical professional will hate making mistakes, so will usually be more than willing to give you an explanation, but if you have difficulty getting hold of them, there are other steps you can take.

You can contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau for advice, but perhaps more useful is PALS – the Patient Advice and Liaison Service. They should be able to put you in contact with the person you need to speak to.

You could also write to the NHS Complaints Procedure – by detailing exactly what went wrong, you may be able to prevent further occurrences.

I Want Compensation

First off, go to your local Citizens Advice Bureau; they will be able to tell you whether your case has a leg to stand on. Your next stop should be a no win no fee medical lawyer – a free initial consultation will explain the risks and likely outcome of your case, and whether or not they’ll take you on. More information on how this works is available on www.lawyers4patients.co.uk.

The main problem with going to court is that cases taken up against the medical profession are well-known for being incredibly difficult to win; the reasons for this should be fairly self-explanatory. The case is likely to drag on a bit, so try and get as much advice from your solicitors as possible.

Some cases will be more likely to win compensation than others – a child losing a mother, for example, or an injury that causes permanent life impairment. If you want to go to court, make sure you think it through thoroughly, but be quick: the limitation period is three years.

Blog post written by Jake Rolin helping patients with medical negligence.